May 17th ~ 24th
“Ancient of Days” by William Blake
That which ye sow ye reap. See yonder fields! The sesamum was sesamum, the corn was corn. The Silence and the Darkness knew! So is a man’s fate born. ~ Edwin Arnold (Light of Asia)
First of all I want to begin by thanking everyone for their well-wishes. It means so much, and helps to build the fortitude to move through all challenges and obstacles I still need to overcome. I hope to resume consultations some time in June. In the mean time, I wanted to catch up with the current astrological weather. And no surprises here! Since my very Capricornian knee surgery, both Pluto and Saturn have stationed retrograde, and are in the ambit of the South Node. The Nodes of the Moon are curious astronomical points where the paths of the Sun and Moon will cross this year. These are also near where the eclipses will take place this year. There are two ways of calculating these, one resulting with the Mean Node, the other the True Node. There can be variances between these two calculations. Some find the Mean Node more relevant, but I have found the True Node often very valid. I watch both. Right now Pluto is still within the ambit of the South Node (either one), and Saturn is crossing the Mean South Node this coming week in the sign of Capricorn.
These combined with the Full Moon in Scorpio on Saturday feels like our chickens coming home to roost, a wave of inevitability, as our Karma unfolds. But there are also deeper consequences here as Saturn crosses the South Node, and that has to do with the willingness to face our deepest fears and pain: all those things we would normally choose to avoid. And because Saturn is currently retrograde, there is also this feeling like we are taking several steps back before we can move forward again. Boy! Am I feeling that one!
The South Node in Capricorn also unearths our weaknesses and fears of change that leads us to persist and dig in. Even as we are being asked to release old habits, the old guard, domination, control and oppression; out of fear of the loss of control these are going to dig in even deeper: conservative values that veer on the side of oppression; draconian laws imposed on others; patriarchal and institutional bias; and imposing one’s values on others. This can also feel like we are moving backwards instead of forward. It can also feel very deflating and exhausting. Things don’t need to be so hard! And there are always solutions.
One way out of the Saturn retrograde malaise, is to embrace his more noble qualities. Things do sometimes appear to move backwards when Saturn is retrograde, or at the very least, they move slowly. Therefore embrace patience and stalwart determination. Saturn/Pluto/South Node can freeze us with fear and doubt. Things may be harder to achieve with this combination, therefore endeavor to take on the challenge, and work hard to achieve your goals, even against what appear to be insurmountable odds. This combination is often associated with tearing down the old guard. But that is necessary in order to build something better, more dependable and more reliable. It requires a willingness to let go, in order to rebuild. Therefore embrace the courage needed that allows you to let go of those things, ideas, circumstances that are no longer serving you, and may in fact be limiting and preventing you from making any progress.
These are challenging transits. But they can also be incredibly rewarding. If nothing else we are being given the opportunity to internalize some of the more positive traits associated with Saturn, such as self-discipline, strategy, attention to detail, patience, and self-respect. It is also an opportunity to face and overcome fear, control, attachment and stagnation. In this way, we are removing the obstacles and clearing the path, and making it easier to navigate our way forward by developing these very useful skillful means.
For next week’s horoscopes, click below: